The World Storytelling Day 2024

It’s the World Storytelling Day – a global celebration of the art of Oral Storytelling.

But how did it all begin?

Well…

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, actually back in 1991, a storyteller’s day was held in Sweden called Alla berattares Day i.e. All Storyteller’s Day on the day of March Equinox.

We know that throughout history, storytellers have been revered and celebrated in cultures all around the world, often seen as leaders, teachers, entertainers and more. Infact we can’t really make sense of the world around us without narrative, can’t function without the power of storytelling to help us piece it all together.

And therefore, it did not take much time for the rest of the world to catch up with this kind of celebration. By 1997, the occasion had travelled to Australia and Latin America and by 2002 it had spread across the rest of Scandinavia. 2009 marked the first time when it was celebrated across all the 6 continents (except Antarctica of course!). Now World Storytelling Day takes place every year on March 20^th and centers around different themes each time. The aim is to celebrate this art with as many people as possible sharing stories, making it a truly international festival that creates new friendships and promotes a positive understanding of cultures around the World.

This year 2024, the theme is “Building Bridges” and I reminisce this story from my life 😊

It was my early days into the world of storytelling. My repertoire of stories was not big but it had some interesting and fun stories. And whenever I told them, it was no doubt delightful for me as a storyteller. And with all modesty I must say that it was received very well every time too!

So, it was one day when I was invited to do a couple of sessions for kindergarten children at a school. I reached the school with my story bag, all set to share some fun folktales with animal characters. Shortly after, the children for the first session arrived in the big hall where I was going to share the stories. It was a folktale from North East India that I had decided to share with them. Being a performance storyteller, I knew I can use my voice modulations and dramatization to bring the characters alive and make the story livelier for the children to enjoy. Also being a singer, I always try to weave in musical elements wherever possible. I used some chants and sound effects where the children could join me. I incorporated dialogues which the children could repeat. And I also brought in roles where the audience could become part of the story. So it was indeed so much fun filled with giggles, emotions, ooohs and aaahs through the session.

As all this was happening, I noticed there was this one boy who was wearing a “Superman” T-shirt. I knew he was observing me throughout but did not speak a word and sitting quietly for those 30 mins while every other child was active.

hmmm… I wondered what was going on with him but did not disturb him. Obviously, I did not want to force him or embarrass him.

The session was done. We finished with a dance as I sang a song that was from the region from where the story came from. As I was wrapping up, this boy with the “Superman” T-shirt walked up to me.

“You know, I can bring back the Sun. Because I am a Superman.”, he said to my pleasant surprise.

Well, the context in the story was Sun disappears and does not come back. So different characters try to persuade him until he finally returns. While I was telling this part, I involved some children who played different characters that went to the Sun and convince him to come back.

“Next time, you need help Ma’am, tell me and I will do it for you.”, he said.

Well, I just smiled. “Of course. Sure.”, I replied.

He just stood with me for the next few minutes until their teacher took the students back to their class.

I took my things and was waiting for the next session when the previous class teacher walked up to me.

“Ma’am, what you did was just amazing!”, she said.

I assumed she was talking about my storytelling and thanked her with a smile.

“I mean, it was just magical what happened. I just did not expect this at all”, she continued.

And now I became confused. I did not quite get what she was talking about exactly and the teacher understood this from my facial expression.

“Ma’am , that boy in “Superman” T-shirt, he has not opened his mouth to speak to anyone in school – not even us teachers. We have been struggling with him for the last 3 months since he joined.  But he was with you for the just 30 mins and he came on his own and spoke to you! Seriously Ma’am , that was just so wonderful.”, she finished.

Well… for a moment I was dumbstruck. I was lost for words and when I tried to speak, I could feel my voice cracking a bit. It was indeed an “Ahaa” moment for me.

“Wow! Ma’am… What can I say? It’s … It’s just the power of stories!”

“And thanks so much for sharing this”, I said

“Thanks to you Ma’am for doing this”, she said and left.

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Author Michael Margolis once said, “Storytelling is about connecting to other people and helping people to see what you see”

And I also quote Steve Jobs who said, “The most powerful person in the world is the Storyteller”

Today, also being World Happiness Day, I am so happy to have chosen Storytelling as my career path because I know with every story that I share/tell to my audience I am building bridges. It could be someone as young as that child in “Superman” T-shirt but the connections are happening – of love, friendship, hope, confidence, change and the list goes on.

But I also remind myself everytime with the famous dialogue from the movie “SPIDERMAN” – “With great power comes great responsibility” 🙂

So, what is your story for the day?

Do write in and let’s celebrate this beautiful art and spread joy!

Cheers to Stories and Storytelling!